nicola willis

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The Trump Shock: Why the US President Crashed the Global Economy

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, April 11th, 2025 - 18 comments

There is a method to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff madness. The chaos and confusion is deliberate; the aim is nothing less than the controlled disintegration of the world economy, writes Elliot Crossan. The eyes of the world are on Donald Trump once again. The world’s most successful attention-seeker has us all transfixed. It’s a story […]

Trump’s Secret Sauce Hits NZ

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 pm, April 6th, 2025 - 11 comments

What is Trump’s secret sauce? And what parallels and lessons can we draw in Aotearoa New Zealand, before it’s too late?

Cuts to Disability Services Are Part of a Class War

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 19th, 2025 - 14 comments

Over the last year, the Coalition has unleashed a series of cuts which have been devastating for the disabled community. These cuts are part of a class war — and it’s time to organise and fight back, writes Elliot Crossan.

Is NZ as Stable as Luxon Claims?

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 pm, March 15th, 2025 - 13 comments

By pursuing cuts, selling off assets to multinationals, enabling ACT’s attacks on the Treaty and cutting back on climate commitments, Luxon is guaranteeing that NZ will not be stable for long, writes Elliot Crossan.

Going for poverty: National’s new procurement rules

Written By: - Date published: 6:51 am, March 13th, 2025 - 35 comments

Nicola Willis is picking a fight with unions and environmental groups by proposing changes to Government procurement rules that would do away with environmentally beneficial policies and the requirement to pay the living wage.

Looks like rail enabled ferries may be back

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, March 1st, 2025 - 36 comments

You have to hand it to Winston and New Zealand First. On the issue of rail enabled ferries they have performed outstanding work. That good that what looked like a foregone conclusion, the dismantling of the Cook Strait Rail Link, may not happen after all.

Most kiwis blame Willis for Ferry Fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 30th, 2025 - 9 comments

Recent polling suggests that two thirds of kiwis disagree with Nicola Willis’s decision to cancel the replacement Inter Island ferries contract.

Luxon’s panicked reshuffle

Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, January 20th, 2025 - 61 comments

Christopher Luxon has conducted a major Cabinet Reshuffle with the stand out feature the demotion of Shane Reti and the transfer of Health from Reti to Simeon Brown.

Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, January 16th, 2025 - 35 comments

A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.

2024 in review

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, December 31st, 2024 - 25 comments

It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.

Is Luxon on a roll?

Written By: - Date published: 10:12 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 24 comments

Or about to be rolled? Word has it that Chris Bishop is waiting in the wings, as Luxon’s favourability rating drops below Hipkins.

Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy

Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 47 comments

The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.

Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, December 13th, 2024 - 15 comments

Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.

Clusterfreak

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, December 12th, 2024 - 46 comments

Yesterday’s replacement ferry announcement by Nicola Willis suggests that very little progress has been made in securing replacement Cook Island ferries.

Economy Nose Dives

Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, November 28th, 2024 - 24 comments

The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?

Nicola Willis Deflects As National Splurge On Roads

Written By: - Date published: 8:33 am, November 10th, 2024 - 10 comments

Nicola Willis deflects a question on why National are spending billions on roads without a business case – after cancelling the 2026 i-Rex – which had a strong business case and required $1.4bn more to complete seismic upgraded ports and next generation ferries.

A Heavy Day

Written By: - Date published: 3:05 pm, November 7th, 2024 - 40 comments

This short excerpt represents a respite from the US election. Christopher Luxon apologises to Opposition leader Chris Hipkins and more. TPM ask Luxon about using force in boot camps. Plus a quick reminder on what we shouldn’t forget here in NZ either.

Ferry crisis what ferry crisis?

Written By: - Date published: 12:35 pm, October 17th, 2024 - 21 comments

The Cook Strait Ferry issue is getting to a critical point. An announcement was expected in July. But it appears that NZ First is digging its heels in about the need tor the replacement ferries being rail capable.

Ferry ferry quite contrary

Written By: - Date published: 8:22 am, September 26th, 2024 - 24 comments

There appears to be an impasse in the Coalition’s ranks with Act and National not wanting rail enabled replacement ferries but Winston Peters demanding that they be rail enabled.

Willis’s Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, September 4th, 2024 - 26 comments

Nicola Willis’s bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander project cancellation has so far cost Kiwis $1bn, but that’s not all. Today RNZ’s reporting reveals the government may have also undermined NZ’s relationship with South Korea.

Maritime Union v Willis

Written By: - Date published: 12:16 pm, August 7th, 2024 - 49 comments

National’s decision to cancel the replacement Cook Strait ferry project is developing into a full blown political crisis for the Government with estimates that it could cost the Crown up to a billion dollars and with further costs to come.

Luxon is accused of spreading “disinformation”

Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, August 1st, 2024 - 21 comments

The PM of NZ is accused of spreading intentional disinformation on Health NZ as the evidence piles up against the Coalition government. Here’s how it went down.

PSA wins an important case about collective agreements

Written By: - Date published: 4:17 pm, July 18th, 2024 - 3 comments

The PSA just won an important case in the Employment Relations Authority against the Ministry of Education about collective agreements. There are significiant downstream implications to planned layoffs, legal fights, and Nicola Willis’s already tax cut strained budget.

Mountain Tui: When is an independent expert or advisory group “independent?”

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, July 12th, 2024 - 5 comments

As reports confirm that the Government intends to sell off Kiwirail ferries, the question has to be asked: “Why is the Government paying thousands of dollars to former National Party members for advice” and when is independent advice not reliable?

Winston Peters – lazy hypocrite on ferries

Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, July 11th, 2024 - 15 comments

My ire was raised this morning when I read a pile of PR drivel from acting PM Winston Peters about the Interislander. If he wanted to be useful looking at “critical part of our infrastructure” – then there are number of better things he could usefully do – rather than chasing headlines.

Mountain Tui: The Kiwirail Interislander saga continues

Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, July 11th, 2024 - 40 comments

Nicola Willis’s decision to cancel the Kiwirail i-Rex contract without a back up plan is coming back to bite. As costs pile up for the taxpayer, we have already lost half a billion dollars, but that won’t be the final bill. And there are still no ferries.

National’s irksome incompetence is inexcusable

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, June 5th, 2024 - 11 comments

When the fabric of lies unravels the gaslighting increases.

The Big Budget Backflip *

Written By: - Date published: 2:57 pm, June 3rd, 2024 - 10 comments

* or is it?

Putting Politics over People

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, June 1st, 2024 - 24 comments

National’s breaking of its election promise to fund 13 cancer treatments is cruel beyond words.

Budget Smudgeit

Written By: - Date published: 2:43 pm, May 30th, 2024 - 80 comments

Early comments on the budget. Basically tax cuts are being paid by more borrowing. There is no way this can be described as being fiscally neutral.

The Liz Truss of the South Seas

Written By: - Date published: 9:43 am, April 21st, 2024 - 35 comments

Liz Truss’s short reign as UK Prime Minister foundered after her budget requiring borrowing to fund tax cuts was released. The budget tanked the UK economy and caused Truss’s resignation. This week amongst announcements of massive cuts it has emerged that the Government is also planning borrowing for tax cuts.